Seagate GoFlex Satellite 500GB Hard Drive Review

Imagine yourself miles away from home on a business trip or vacation. All you have to keep entertained is your iPhone or iPad. Both devices have notoriously small storage capacity for the price. While they can easily handle small apps, once you load hundreds of song files, photographs and a few HD videos, the space quickly runs out. That’s where Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite portable hard drive comes in.

This 500GB hard drive is a nimble external expansion of your device’s storage capacity will stream all of the content that your heart desires. Now you can take your 8GB iPhone and multiply its storage potential 62 times over. Alternatively, you can buy the 16GB iPad for $500 along with the GoFlex Satellite for your extra storage needs; you’d get over 400GB more storage space than the 64GB model – at the same price. It’s an easy call if you don’t mind the extra clutter in your pocket.

The best part about the GoFlex Satellite is that it is simple to use. Once you take it out of the box and connect it to your laptop, you can drag-and-drop files from your PC or Mac to your smartphone or tablet. There is no required clunky software to deal with, but if you prefer an iTunes-like approach, you can download the optional Seagate Media Sync software. The ease of use is commendable for a product that probably caters more towards hardcore media users.

For those curious, the GoFlex Satellite comes packed with a USB 3 adapter, a car charger, AC input and Wi-Fi capability. Users of iOS devices will be able to use an app to access the contents while users of other devices will have to make use of a web browser through Wi-Fi. While it can theoretically be enjoyed by almost anyone, the quality does take a bit of a nosedive with load times on non-iOS devices using Wi-Fi.

I usually do not write hardware reviews, but Seagate’s GoFlex Satellite is such an exceptional product for the price that it simply cannot be ignored by hardcore media junkies. This is especially true for people with iOS devices. The $200 price tag is in line with its competitors and delivers a wireless experience that will last you up to five hours. It’s hard to see it being used for anyone with an Android phone or a Windows PC. However, this is a definite “must buy” for people on the go looking to expand their media library on an iOS device.